3/26/12: Fontana won’t overwhelm scouts with any of his individual tools, but is the classic college player whose total exceeds the sum of the parts. He is extremely steady in all phases of his game and a major reason why Florida has dominated the collegiate ranks pretty much since he took over for the Gators as their starting shortstop in 2010.
As the grandson of the late Lew Burdette, who won 203 games at the major-league level, plus three more in the 1957 World Series for the Milwaukee Braves, Fontana has obvious big-league bloodlines, but a style all his own.
He played an instrumental role in leading Florida to College World Series appearances as both a freshman and sophomore, even as he hit a solid if unspectacular .288 with eight homers and 72 RBIs in the two years combined. He is hitting an equally-pedestrian .299-4-15 through 24 games this season, and yet it is due in no small part to Fontana’s all-around contributions that the Gators have been ranked No. 1 from the outset and are fielding potentially their best team ever this season.
Fontana’s raw production at the plate, while modest, hardly represents his overall contribution as an offensive performer. As his team’s leadoff hitter the last two seasons, Fontana has proven very adept at the role by topping the Gators in walks (53 in 2010, a Southeastern Conference-leading 52 in 2011), on-base-percentage (.442 in 2011), sacrifice bunts (20 in 2011) and sacrifice flies (9 in 2011), and is on pace to lead his team in those more-subtle categories again. He had team-highs of 18 walks, 24 runs and six stolen bases for the 22-2 Gators.
Scouts say that the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Fontana, a lefthanded hitter, has the strength, pure hitting mechanics and raw bat speed to produce double-digit home-run totals at the college level, if he were so inclined, but his emphasis has always been on fulfilling his role as a leadoff hitter by working counts and simply reaching base.
If anything, Fontana will need to become more aggressive and less selective at the plate, especially in true hitter’s counts, for scouts to profile him as anything more than a typical 2-hole or 9-hole hitter at the next level. With 6.8-second speed in the 60, he lacks the raw speed of a traditional leadoff man.
If there are concerns that Fontana hasn’t maximized his offensive worth, there are no such questions about his ability in the field. In fact, it’s safe to say that there isn’t a steadier, more sure-handed shortstop in the college ranks than Fontana, and he has already been recognized twice with Rawlings Gold Glove awards at his position.
As a freshman for the Gators, Fontana committed just four errors and posted a .986 fielding average—an improbable season-long figure for a college shortstop. Though his error count dipped to 12 as a sophomore, he has had just two miscues in the field so far this season.
As sound as he is defensively, Fontana doesn’t play shortstop with a lot of flash. He doesn’t even have the superior range and arm strength desired in the position, but is extremely steady and sure-handed, and unusually adept at getting to the balls he needs to get to. There are few if any plays he cannot make. His arm is extremely true and accurate with good carry, though he may need to speed up his exchange in order to get rid of the ball a little quicker at the professional level.
Even those scouts who question whether Fontana has the range and arm strength to play shortstop on an everyday basis at the next level concede that he has the superior intangibles to adjust instinctively to a faster-paced game on his own. In a worse-case scenario, he could move to second base, or even become utility man. No matter where he ends up, his bat should play and he has the superior instincts and aggressive approach to be an accomplished base stealer.
In the end, Fontana plays the game with a lot of energy and enthusiasm, and is the type of player who will get every last ounce out of his natural ability. With his steady play over three years on a big stage at Florida, plus all his intangibles, he represents one of safest selections in this year’s college draft class and could advance quickly to the big leagues.

Nolan Fontana is a 2009 SS/P/2B with a 5'11'', 180 lb. frame from Winter Garden, FL who attends West Orange. Fontana is a solid MIF who is developing additional strength. Showed excellent foot work and good range, made a tough play look easy on ground ball up the middle, quick transfer with good body control. Strong hands on swing, a lot of hard line drives to pull side, showed good bat speed. Most of all, Fontana is a true baseball player who will have a great career. Outstanding student.

Nolan Fontana is a 2009 MIF/P with a 5'10'', 165 lb. frame from Winter Garden FL, who attends West Orange. Fontana has a medium sized frame with a lean build. Defensively, Fontana has arm strength with a quick release. He makes accurate throws consistently and has solid actions to the baseball. Fontana has good footwork and takes good angles to the ball. Fontana can throw the ball from different arm angles and has versitle defensive tools. At the plate, Fontana starts with an open stance and swings from a crouch. He has a good load to start his swing and gets closed at load. Fontana has some lift in his swing and uses a lot of wrist in his swing. He looks to pull the ball and has a slashing type swing. Fontana keeps the bat in the hitting zone well and has a solid swing. He will hit at the next level and has some present strength in his swing. Fontana is an outstanding student.